Mother Yasoda Binds Lord Krsna

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Mother Yasoda Binds Lord Krsna

 

Once upon a time, seeing that her maidservant was engaged in

different household duties, Mother Yasoda personally took charge of

churning butter. And while she churned butter, she sang the childhood

pastimes of Krsna and enjoyed thinking of her son.

 

The end of her sari was tightly wrapped while she churned, and on

account of her intense love for her son, milk automatically dripped

from her breasts which moved as she labored very hard, churning with

two hands. The bangles and bracelets on her hands tinkled as they

touched each other, and her earrings and breasts shook. There were

drops of perspiration on her face, and the flower garland which was

on her head scattered here and there. Before this picturesque sight,

Lord Krsna appeared as a child. He felt hungry, and out of love for

His mother, He wanted her to stop churning. He indicated that her

first business was to let Him suck her breast and then churn butter

later.

 

Mother Yasoda took her son on her lap and pushed the nipples of her

breasts into His mouth. And while Krsna was sucking the milk, she was

smiling, enjoying the beauty of her child's face. Suddenly, the milk

which was on the oven began to boil over. Just to stop the milk from

spilling, Mother Yasoda at once put Krsna aside and went to the oven.

 

Left in that state by His mother, Krsna became very angry, and His

lips and eyes became red in rage. He pressed His teeth and lips, and

taking up a piece of stone, He immediately broke the butter pot. He

took butter out of it, and with false tears in His eyes, He began to

eat the butter in a secluded place.

 

In the meantime, Mother Yasoda returned to the churning place after

setting the overflowing milk pan in order. She saw the broken pot in

which the churning yogurt was kept. Since she could not find her boy,

she concluded that the broken pot was His work. She began to smile as

she thought, " The child is very clever. After breaking the pot He has

left this place, fearing punishment. " After she sought all over, she

found a big wooden grinding mortar which was kept upside down, and

she found her son sitting on it. He was taking butter which was

hanging from the ceiling on a swing, and He was feeding it to the

monkeys. She saw Krsna looking this way and that way in fear of her

because He was conscious of His naughty behavior. After seeing her

son so engaged, she very silently approached Him from behind. Krsna,

however, quickly saw her coming at Him with a stick in her hand, and

immediately He got down from the grinding mortar and began to flee in

fear.

 

Mother Yasoda chased Him to all corners, trying to capture the

Supreme Personality of Godhead who is never approached even by the

meditations of great yogis. In other words, the Supreme Personality

of Godhead, Krsna, who is never caught by the yogis and speculators,

was playing just like a little child for a great devotee like Mother

Yasoda. Mother Yasoda, however, could not easily catch the fast-

running child because of her thin waist and heavy body. Still she

tried to follow Him as fast as possible. Her hair loosened, and the

flower in her hair fell to the ground. Although she was tired, she

somehow reached her naughty child and captured Him. When He was

caught, Krsna was almost on the point of crying. He smeared His hands

over His eyes, which were anointed with black eye cosmetics. The

child saw His Mother's face while she stood over Him, and His eyes

became restless from fear. Mother Yasoda could understand that Krsna

was unnecessarily afraid, and for His benefit she wanted to allay His

fears.

 

Being the topmost well-wisher of her child, Mother Yasoda began to

think, " If the child is too fearful of me, I don't know what will

happen to Him. " Mother Yasoda then threw away her stick. In order to

punish Him, she thought to bind His hands with some ropes. She did

not know it, but it was actually impossible for her to bind the

Supreme Personality of Godhead. Mother Yasoda was thinking that Krnsa

was her tiny child; she did not know that the child had no

limitation. There is no inside or outside of Him, nor beginning or

end. He is unlimited and all-pervading. Indeed, He is Himself the

whole cosmic manifestation. Still, Mother Yasoda was thinking of

Krsna as her child. Although He is beyond the reach of all senses,

she endeavored to bind Him up to a wooden grinding mortar. But when

she tried to bind Him, she found that the rope she was using was too

short--by two inches. She gathered more ropes from the house and

added to it, but at the end she found the same shortage. In this way,

she connected all the ropes available at home, but when the final

knot was added, she saw that it was still two inches too short.

Mother Yasoda was smiling, but she was astonished. How was it

happening?

 

In attempting to bind her son, she became tired. She was perspiring,

and the garland on her head fell down. Then Lord Krsna appreciated

the hard labor of His mother, and being compassionate upon her, He

agreed to be bound up by the ropes. Krsna, playing as a human child

in the house of Mother Yasoda, was performing His own selected

pastimes. Of course, no one can control the Supreme Personality of

Godhead. The pure devotee surrenders himself unto the lotus feet of

the Lord, who may either protect or vanquish the devotee. But for his

part, the devotee never forgets his own position of surrender.

Similarly, the Lord also feels transcendental pleasure by submitting

Himself to the protection of the devotee. This was exemplified by

Krsna's surrender unto His Mother, Yasoda.

 

Krsna is the supreme bestower of all kinds of liberation to His

devotees, but the benediction which was bestowed upon Mother Yasoda

was never experienced even by Lord Brahmä or Lord Shiva or the

Goddess of Fortune.

 

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is known as the son of Yasoda

and Nanda Maharaja, is never so completely known to the yogis and

speculators. But He is easily available to His devotees. Nor is He

appreciated as the supreme reservoir of all pleasure by the yogis and

speculators.

 

After binding her son, Mother Yasoda engaged herself in household

affairs. At that time, bound up to the wooden mortar, Krsna could see

a pair of trees before Him which were known as Arjuna trees. The

great reservoir of pleasure, Lord Sri Krsna, thus thought to

Himself, " Mother Yasoda first of all left without feeding Me

sufficient milk, and therefore I broke the pot of yogurt and

distributed the stock butter in charity to the monkeys. Now she has

bound Me up to a wooden mortar. So I shall do something more

mischievous than before. " And thus He thought of pulling down the two

very tall Arjuna trees.

 

There is a history behind the pair of Arjuna trees. In their previous

lives, the trees were born as the human sons of Kuvera, and their

names were Nalakuvara and Manigriva. Fortunately, they came within

the vision of the Lord. In their previous lives they were cursed by

the great sage Narada in order to receive the highest benediction of

seeing Lord Krsna. This benediction-curse was bestowed upon them

because of their forgetfulness due to intoxication.

 

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Ninth Chapter of

Krsna, " Mother Yasoda Binding Lord Krsna. "

KB 1970-1-10 /